In numbers

The chief executive of HealthEngine, the online GP booking business at the centre of a review-tampering controversy, has apologised for the company's actions and announced a sweeping review of its "aspirational review system".

But in a letter published on HealthEngine's home page on Monday, Dr Tan, himself a GP, said the company did not mean to mislead readers and had realised it could do things better.

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"User trust is paramount to us at HealthEngine and we are conducting an internal and external review of the HealthEngine Practice Recognition System to ensure clarity, compliance and best practice regarding the way in which we review and publish patient comments," he wrote.

"We have removed all customer feedback from our site until further notice pending the results of our review."

HealthEngine has been caught deleting negative details in reviews and posting them as positive ones.Credit:Andrew Quilty

In a separate comment on social media, he said he recognised the way that the review moderators worked had caused some "unintended confusion" and "unreservedly apologised" for this.

HealthEngine said previously it did not publish negative comments because it ran an "aspirational" review system and it edited out identifying details and clinical information to comply with laws and Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency's (AHPRA) guidelines.

After scrutinising both the original reviews and edited versions, Fairfax Media found numerous examples where relevant but negative points had been deleted to the point at which what was published no longer reflected the patients' opinions.

One patient originally wrote: "The practice is good. All the doctors I've seen there are good apart from [doctor's name] ... she genuinely comes across like you are wasting her time". This was whittled to "The practice is good. All the doctors I've seen there are good" and posted on the clinic's webpage.

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Another submitted: "I will use this practice if I have no other option. Receptionist was lovely but the wait and then the doctor checking text messages and not seeming connected with us was disappointing." This was published as "Receptionist was lovely."

Another reviewer said: "The staff at reception were excellent. The doctor was very off hand, appeared uninterested, I was very uncomfortable." This was posted simply as "The staff at reception were excellent."

AHPRA said a person who advertises a regulated health service or business in a way that is "false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to be misleading or deceptive" is in breach of the law.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said selectively editing reviews could mislead customers, especially if the total body of reviews does not reflect the writers' opinions.

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Both regulatory agencies said they couldn't comment on a specific business.

"Negative feedback is not published but rather passed on confidentially and directly to the clinic completely unmoderated to help health practices improve moving forward," Dr Tan wrote in his public letter.

"We email all patients about their reviews being published and alert them to having possibly been moderated according to our guidelines ... we have not intended to moderate any reviews to mislead readers."

While many of the edits were minor, Fairfax Media's analysis of edited reviews showed HealthEngine had blotted out comments on receptionists, the booking system, billing and even parking problems.

In reaction, users on social media said the business "showed a shocking lack of integrity" and its actions had "cast doubt on [its] authenticity".

The start-up company's directors hold roles in other companies such as Carsales.com.au, Telstra Ventures and Seven West Media.

HealthEngine has experienced a year-on-year growth in active users of 87 per cent, reaching more than 1.5 million a month.

It is one of Australia's fastest growing technology companies, enjoying a 305 per cent increase in revenue between 2015 and 2017.